Charmed and Dangerous
by onceuponanevilangel
Summary: Emma's taking a photography class. Her project? Capture the 'face of justice'. At first she's completely stumped, but then her ex-boyfriend turns up dead. Enter homicide detective Regina Mills. Emma begins shadowing her to get pictures and it doesn't take long for it to turn into something more. But when Emma starts pulling at threads, she risks a lot more than just her grade.
1. In the Beginning

**I've been planning this story and outlining it for about two weeks now and I'm super excited to write it. It's loosely inspired by the TV show Castle, but I'm putting my own spin on it and I hope you all enjoy it. The story takes place in Boston. Reviews are very much appreciated!**

**I don't own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. If I did do you really think I'd be writing fanfiction?**

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><p>"What the hell does that even mean?" Emma asked staring down at the slip of paper in her hand.<p>

"It can mean whatever you'd like it to mean, Miss Swan," Professor Gold replied. He continued his path around the classroom as he spoke, addressing the whole class now. "This is a highly advanced class. You all received special permission to be in this class and you have all proven your skills with a camera. Your only assignment this semester will be to create a piece demonstrating the theme on the card you've chosen. There will be no trading allowed, Mr. Nolan."

Emma turned to see David Nolan, her friend Mary Margaret's boyfriend, shift uncomfortably in his seat and withdraw his arm which was holding his slip of paper out towards Ruby Lucas. He blushed a deep red and looked down at his desk.

Once everyone had a slip of paper, Gold carried the fishbowl containing the folded papers back up to the front of the room and set it on his desk. Then he turned to lean against the edge of his desk and steepled his fingers together, scanning the class over them.

"This is an individual assignment, but you are more than welcome to get feedback from your peers if you so choose. You will see that the due date is the day of your final examination. If you are smart, you will chip away at this assignment over the course of the semester and you will have one less class to worry about during finals week. Use your time wisely. Any questions?"

No one dared raise their hand.

"Excellent. Then you may take some time to brainstorm for your project. Feel free to see me with any questions." With that, Gold moved behind his desk and sat down at his computer.

There was almost a full minute of silence and then David slid his chair cautiously over towards Ruby's desk. That was all it took for the whole class to start to shift and chatter as they split off into small groups. Emma stood up and dragged her chair over toward where Ruby and David were sitting. She plopped down next to them, her paper slip still held in her hand.

"So David," Ruby started. "What's on that paper of yours that you were so eager to pawn off on me?"

"The face of knowledge," he replied, holding out his slip for the two girls to read. "Am I supposed to just take pictures of my professors?"

"I got the face of wealth," Ruby said, making a face at her paper. "How do we have to do this again?" She leaned over and snatched the rubric off of David's desk. Her finger trailed down the sheet and her lips moved quickly as she skimmed the lines until she got to the requirements. "Alright, here it is. Create a presentation consisting of between fifteen and twenty-five pictures that showcase the theme you have been assigned."

"Fun," Emma said with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh shut up," Ruby said. "This is literally your only class this semester and you're going to complain?"

"Of course. Once I pass this class, I'll be able to interview for that job at the newspaper, but I also have to build up a good portfolio while I'm doing that and I'm working at the diner part time and now I have to figure out how to showcase the face of justice or whatever. So yes, I will complain." Emma crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her tongue out childishly. Ruby laughed.

"Good luck," David said teasingly.

"You know," Ruby mused. "There are times I wish I had let Mary Margaret talk me into going into education with her. She gets internships and essays while we get left to our own devices with a camera and that's our entire grade."

"When I get home, I'll make sure to tell her that," Emma said. She curled her fist a little tighter around her paper. The subtle motion caught Ruby's eye and the brunette suddenly realized that Emma hadn't shared her topic yet.

"What'd you get stuck with?" she asked leaning closer as though she could read the slip through Emma's closed fist.

"The face of justice," Emma replied.

David chuckled and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms back behind his head. "Have fun with that," he said with a grin.

Emma rolled her eyes and kicked the leg of his chair. It tipped over and David had to scramble to grab at his desk so that he didn't hit his head on the tiled floor. Ruby's laugh turned into a cackle loud enough for a few of the people in the groups near them to turn around. Gold didn't look up, though.

"What was that for?" David demanded as he picked himself and his chair up.

"Laughing," Emma said. "And because it was pretty funny."

"Why do I even hang out with you guys?"

"Because you love us," Ruby suggested, batting her eyelashes.

"Whatever you say," David said.

"Alright, everyone," Gold said suddenly. "Class is dismissed. I'll see you all next week."

There was the standard rustling and shuffling as everyone gathered up their books and papers. Ruby grabbed her bag and stood up. "So what are you guys doing now?"

"Going home," Emma replied with a smirk. That earned her another punch from Ruby and the blonde just laughed. She slid her chair back to her desk and slung her bag on her shoulder.

"I've got my graphics class and then I've got to get ready to pick up Mary Margaret. We're going out to Tony's tonight for our three year anniversary."

"Cool. I'm going out to pick up a new jacket and then I'll be home, so I'll see you there, Emma. Have fun on your date, David." Ruby waved to her friends and then hurried out of the classroom. She always seemed to be hurrying.

Emma and David walked outside together and then separated with a wave as David headed toward the tech building across the quad while Emma just walked over toward a bench. She still had her slip of paper in her hand. Once she was sitting, she opened it up again and glared at the four words written in her professor's loopy handwriting_. The Face of Justice. _If only she could figure out what the hell he meant by that then maybe she could get something done.

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><p>Regina was ambushed the second she got her apartment door open. She didn't even have time to pull her key out of the lock before a small shape crashed into her legs. She had to grab the door frame to keep from falling over.<p>

"Well hello to you too, Henry," she said, leaning down to ruffle her six-year-old son's hair.

"Did you catch any villains today, Mama?" Henry looked up at her with a grin, still hugging her legs tightly. His brown eyes were shining and his mouth was open in a wide grin, revealing the gap left from a tooth lost a few days ago.

"Not today, sweetheart," Regina replied. She bent down and kissed his hair. "How much sugar did you eat today?"

"A lollipop's worth." This voice came from the kitchen doorway. Regina's older sister, Zelena, was leaning against the frame with one hand on her hip. "But he did also drink a few glasses of Sprite while we watched Iron Man, so that might not have helped the situation."

Regina cringed a little bit. "How bad was he today?"

"Oh, he was fine," Zelena said. "It's just starting to kick in now."

"Of course it is." Regina stepped out of Henry's embrace and took off her jacket, hanging it on the hook next to the door. She unzipped her boots and turned to look at her son. "How was school today, sweetheart?"

"Great! We got to learn all about the planets and did you know that Saturn has a bunch of rings, but they're not rings like you wear on your fingers. They're rings like they stay around the planet and make it look really cool. And did you know Jupiter is the biggest planet and it's made of all gas? No one's ever been to Jupiter because no one could even stand on it! They'd just fall right through!"

"Is that so?" Regina asked.

"Yeah!"

"Alright, did you finish all your homework already?"

"Yup. Auntie Zee helped with it."

"Good job. Why don't you go run and get your pajamas on and then you can tell me all about the planets."

"Okay!" With that, Henry raced out of the living room, still chattering excitedly to himself. Once he was gone, Regina dropped down onto the couch and sighed.

"Rough day?" Zelena asked.

"No, just long. It was all paperwork. I think my vision might be permanently blurred now."

"Always the dramatic one," Zelena teased.

"I almost wish someone would just hurry up and get murdered so that I wouldn't have to spend all day filling out paperwork," Regina huffed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure someone will get killed eventually."

It was at that exact moment that Regina's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and swiped at the screen to read the new text message.

"What is it?" Zelena asked, stepping closer to the couch and leaning over, trying to see read her sister's screen. Regina blocked the redhead with her shoulder.

"It's from Kathryn. There was a murder."

"When you wish upon a star…" Zelena said with a teasing grin. "Do you need me to stay for a little while longer?"

"Yeah. Do you mind?" Regina asked, already up and slipping her boots back on. "I'll try not to be too late."

"Go on." Zelena waved her hand dismissively. "Just do me a favor. Next time you wish for someone to die, just make sure you don't include my name."

"No promises. Henry!" Regina called as she slipped back into her coat. The little boy came running back out into the living with a pair of pajama pants on and a blue shirt on one arm and over his head. Regina chuckled and knelt down so she could pull the shirt all the way on. "Sweetheart, I have to go for a little while. Auntie Zee's going to stay here with you until I get back, okay?"

"Okay!" he exclaimed. "We can play Candyland and watch Captain America and eat popcorn and it'll be fun!"

"Alright, well don't forget, you have school tomorrow, so you're not staying up too late. I want you in bed by eight."

"But Mama," he started.

"No buts. I'll come say goodnight when I get home." Regina kissed the top of his head again and then stood up to shoot Zelena a look that said 'he's your problem now.' Zelena just rolled her eyes in response and then looked over at Henry.

"Why don't you go grab Candyland and we can play that for a little while before bed."

Henry nodded and rushed off to grab the game.

"Be safe out there, sis," Zelena said.

"I always am," Regina replied. She opened the door and through a last glance over her shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to catch a villain."


	2. Getting Hooked

**A big thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It means the world to me. Also, I feel like I should say that the extent of my police jargon knowledge comes from watching Castle and a few episodes of Rizzoli and Isles, so please forgive any mistakes I make. Unbetaed, so any mistakes are mine. Enjoy!**

**Still don't own it. Still wish I did.**

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><p>"So what do we have here?" Regina asked. The heels of her boots clicked on the pavement of the alley and she could see her partner, Kathryn, standing near a dumpster against the brick wall at the end. There was a man's body on the ground and the medical examiner, Mal, was bent over him as she did her preliminary exam.<p>

"A John Doe," Kathryn said. "A homeless man was dumpster diving and found him. It only got called in about an hour ago, but it looks like he was in there for a little while."

"If a little while is code for about twelve hours then yes," Mal interjected. "From what I can tell, he was killed somewhere between five and seven this morning. He's got ligature marks around his neck from what could be a rope, but I won't know for sure until I get him on the slab."

"Any ID?" Regina asked.

"None on him," Mal said. "but I can run DNA in the lab. He does have a pretty nice prosthetic hand, too." She gestured to the man's left hand and Regina crouched down and took her first good look at the victim.

He was handsome enough when he was alive, she supposed. He had dark hair that seemed to fall in every direction at once and his eyes, still open, were icy blue. A thin layer of dark scruff covered his cheeks and chin, but it was still a few weeks away from being an actual beard. Mal's gloved fingers were turning over the man's left hand carefully. It was bionic, but it matched his skin tone almost perfectly and if Regina hadn't been looking right it, she might not have even been able to tell.

"And what does that mean?" Kathryn asked. She crouched down next to Regina and looked at the medical examiner.

"Nothing, really, I just thought it was worth mentioning," Mal said with a shrug. "I'll get him back to the morgue and do a full autopsy. If I find anything special, I'll call you, but otherwise I think you guys can head home for the night."

"Are you sure?" Regina asked. She straightened up and dusted her hands off on her black slacks.

"She's sure," Kathryn said. "We can have uniforms interview the homeless man and sweep the area for any clues or other witnesses. It's almost eight and you've already been working all day. Go home, get some rest, and we have a new case to look forward to tomorrow morning."

Regina looked from Kathryn to Mal and back again until Kathryn finally said, "Go. I'm clocking out too. Don't make me get the captain on the phone."

"Alright, I'm going," Regina said. "I mean, you're going to call me all the way down here to stay for five minutes, I should find some kind of purpose here."

"Hey, it was Mal's idea to call you down here. I didn't think we'd need you until morning. I figured you were busy with Henry or something, so I thought we could let you have the night off, but Mal made me."

Both women turned to the medical examiner. Mal just shrugged and went back to inspecting the marks around the victim's throat. "I think the hand is worth seeing. It looks pretty top of the line."

"Should I be worried that you're going to turn into Dr. Frankenstein?" Regina teased.

"Not yet," Mal replied. "Now go home."

Kathryn nodded at Regina and the pair made their way back out of the alley together. "Any theories yet?" the blonde asked, bumping her partner's shoulder playfully as they walked.

"Not until we can get a little more data on this guy," Regina replied. "I need something to go off of, but I suppose we'll have more to work with in the morning."

"Yeah, you're right. Give Henry a hug from me when you get home."

"I will. Tell Fredrick I said hello."

"Will do." Kathryn hailed a cab and gave Regina a last wave before getting in.

Regina walked over to her Mercedes, still parked on the curb, and got in. By the time she got home, Henry was already asleep on the couch. Zelena helped get him in bed before she left and then Regina was left alone. After a sandwich for a light dinner, she headed to bed herself.

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><p>"So who's our victim?" Regina asked. She set her coffee cup down on her desk and started flipping through the files in the folder Kathryn held out to her.<p>

"His name is Killian Jones, aka Hook," Kathryn said as she clipped a photo of the man to the whiteboard next to her desk. "He's been booked for things here and there. Mostly drunken disorderliness, but he did try to rob a pawn shop about a year ago. He looks like he's pretty big in the gambling rings too. He's thirty-three, shattered and lost his hand in a bar fight when he was twenty-four, and was strangled in an alley at some point between five and seven yesterday morning, but you already knew that."

"Huh." Regina studied the picture of the man for a moment and then took a sip of her coffee. "Did uniforms find anything last night?"

"No," Kathryn replied. "The man who found the body didn't know anything, there were no other witnesses, and there aren't any security cameras in or around the alley."

"Did Mal find anything in the autopsy?"

"There was some bruising around his eyes and on his arms and torso that looks like he might have been a in a fight shortly before he was killed, but she's mostly just testing out that bionic hand."

"Of course she is," Regina said with an affectionate eye roll. "Do we have anything on his next of kin?"

"He had a brother, Liam, but he died almost ten years ago. Hook's last known affiliate is his ex-girlfriend, Emma Swan." Kathryn punctuated her sentence by clipping a picture of a young blonde woman onto the board next to Hook's. She had piercing green eyes that caught and held Regina's gaze like magnets.

"Hello?" Kathryn asked, waving her hand in front of the picture. "Earth to Regina? What's wrong?"

Regina shook her head and took another sip of her coffee. "Sorry. I didn't sleep great last night. You were saying?"

"We tracked down the ex-girlfriend. She lives in an apartment near the Fenway. We're bringing her in now for questioning. Do you want to handle that?"

"Sure, why not?" Regina finished off the last of her coffee and tossed the empty cup in the trash can. "Let me know when she gets here. I'll talk to her in the break room."

"Alright, will do." With that, Kathryn walked back over to her desk and started typing at her computer while Regina started to look back through the autopsy files in the folder as she waited for Emma Swan to arrive.

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><p>Someone was knocking on the door. Emma shot up off of the couch, scattering photos across the coffee table with the motion. There were times that she loved sharing the apartment above Ruby's grandmother's diner. Those times were usually not when she was racing down a full flight of stairs at breakneck speeds to answer the door. When she got to the bottom, she took a few deep breaths to even out her breathing and prayed that her cheeks weren't as red as they felt.<p>

She opened the door as far as she could before the security chain stopped and peered out through the opening. There was a police officer standing on the sidewalk.

"Can I help you?" Emma asked.

"Are you Emma Swan?" the officer asked.

"Who's asking?"

"Officer Michael Tillman, Boston PD." Emma must have looked skeptical as he quickly rushed to add, "You're not under arrest or anything. I was actually sent to escort you to the precinct. You're wanted for questioning in connection with a recent homicide."

"Homicide? Shit, who died?" Emma asked.

"Killian Jones," Officer Tillman replied. "You're only needed for a little while so that you can answer a few questions from the detectives."

"Alright, yeah, sure. Just give me a minute." Officer Tillman nodded and Emma shut the door so that she could get into the coat closet and grab her jacket. She pulled on her boots, checked to make sure her key was still in her pocket, and sent off a quick text to Ruby.

**At police station. Not arrested. Details later. B home soon.**

Then she unlatched the chain and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Officer Tillman gave her a tight-lipped smile and led her over to a cruiser parked on the curb.

"Do I get to sit in the back?" Emma asked.

"You can if you want to."

"Awesome!" She opened the back door, slid onto the seat, and took a picture of herself in front of the window bars. "My roommate is going to freak out when she sees this. It'll be great." Emma texted the picture to Ruby as well while Officer Tillman climbed into the front of the car and pulled out onto the street.

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><p>"The ex-girlfriend's here," Kathryn said as she walked up to Regina's desk. "She's in the break room like you wanted."<p>

"Good. Thank you, I'll go talk to her."

"Have fun." Kathryn sat down at her own desk while Regina stood up and walked over to the break room.

"This coffee tastes like shit."

"It does," Regina said as she stepped into the room. The blonde woman standing near the coffee machine jumped, succeeding in spilling most of what was in her mug on the counter and floor.

"Crap, sorry," the woman said. "I'll clean that up." She set her now mostly-empty mug on the counter and started hunting around for paper towels, but Regina just waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it. It'll get cleaned up later. Emma Swan, I presume?"

"Yeah, I'm she," Emma said, finally letting her gaze focus on the brunette in front of her.

"Good. I'm Detective Regina Mills. I assume you know why you're here?"

"Yeah. Hook's dead."

"Yes. I just have a few questions to ask you. Would you like to sit down?"

There was a long pause and Emma suddenly realized that she was staring at Regina. She blinked hard and nodded as she sat down on the lumpy beige chair that the brunette had gestured to. She could feel the heat creeping up her cheeks again and looked down to try to hide it.

If Regina did notice, she didn't say anything about it. She just opened her notepad, clicked her pen, and launched right into her questions. "You two had broken up, correct?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "About a month ago. I caught him cheating on me and dumped his ass about a month ago."

"Had you been in contact with him at all recently?"

"No."

"Do you know of anyone in his life who would want him dead?"

"More like who wouldn't want him dead," Emma snorted.

Regina paused in her notes and peered at Emma over the top of her pad. "Care to elaborate on that at all?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Hook was really big into gambling. He'd go out, get drunk, and come back with either a wad of bills or a black eye. See, he had this habit of spending all the money he won on alcohol and he could never pay up when he lost. I can think of about ten guys right off the top of my head that he owed and never paid. Most of those guys wouldn't have resorted to killing, of course, but a few might have gone that far."

"Do you have any names?" Regina asked.

"He always tended to go to this one guy, I don't know his real name, but he goes by Blackbeard. He runs a strip club downtown I think. He's always got something to bet on at his place and Hook was a regular.

"Excellent." Regina jotted down the name, shut her pad, and clicked her pen closed. "Thank you very much, Miss Swan. I'll contact you if we need anything else from you."

"Cool. I'll just clean up my mess before I go." Emma grabbed the roll of paper towels off of the dowel above the sink and started mopping up the mess on the counter.

"Oh, here, let me help you with that." Regina tore off a few sheets of paper towels and bent down to wipe up the spill on the floor. Emma's eyes wandered downwards and she was suddenly mesmerized by the brunette's profile. Soft brown hair fell in front of warm but hard brown eyes and there was a thin scar on her upper lip just barely visible from the side. Her badge glittered where it was clipped to her hip Emma almost reflexively made a rectangle out of her fingers to mimic a lens. She centered Regina in it and bit her lip to keep from gasping audibly.

She knew exactly what to do for her project and she knew exactly who she needed to talk to to get in.


	3. Ground Rules

**And here is chapter 3. Now that the holidays are over, updates will hopefully be a little more regular, but, as usual, I can make no promises. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who's followed, favorited, and/or reviewed this story. It means the world to me and I can't express how happy I get when I see those numbers go up. Enjoy! :)**

**Still don't own it. Probably never will.**

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><p>"You might actually be insane," Ruby said. She was laying on the faded couch with her head hanging over the arm and her dark eyes tracing her roommate's movements. "On a scale of one to ten, this is like an eighteen."<p>

"No, Rubes, you don't get it," Emma protested. "This is the most perfect twist of events ever. All I have to do is follow her around, snap some pictures, and there's my project."

"And how exactly do you plan on getting into the precinct to do this?"

Emma shrugged. "Graham still owes me a favor. I'll call him and see what I would have to do to get in at least for a few days."

"You're going to call up your foster brother and ask him if you can tail one of his cops for a grad school project that you could totally do some other way?" Emma nodded and Ruby snorted. "Have fun with that." She rolled over and stood up. She started to walk into the kitchen and then called back over her shoulder. "You want any popcorn?"

"Sure."

"Alright, give me a minute."

Ruby disappeared into the kitchen and Emma sat down on the couch and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. Maybe Ruby was right. Maybe this was ridiculous and she should give up before she had the chance to fail. Btu then again, there was always that small chance. She scrolled through her contacts and hit Graham's name before she could give herself time to change her mind.

Emma stretched out across the couch as she waited for him to pick up. On the third ring he did.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Graham. It's Emma. You got a minute?" she asked.

"Emma? For you I have hours. What's up?"

"Okay, I have sort of an odd question to ask you, but hear me out before you say anything, alright?"

"Alright. What's going on?"

"So I'm sure you know that I came in for questioning about Hook's murder today, right?"

"Yes." Emma could practically hear his eyebrows furrow through the phone.

"Well the cop that talked to me, her name was Regina Mills and she was really great."

"Emma, are you asking me to set you up?" Graham asked.

"Oh God, no," Emma said quickly. "I got assigned this project for my photography class and I have to represent the face of justice, so I was wondering if I could, like, shadow Detective Mills for a little while. Just for this case so I could use her as my subject. That is if you and her are cool with it."

As soon as she asked the question, Ruby came back into the room with a bowl of popcorn in her arms. "Graham?" she mouthed. Emma nodded and Ruby shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. "Put him on speaker," she said around her mouthful.

"No," Emma mouthed back. Then she turned her attention back to what Graham was saying.

"Well, you know I'd do anything for you, Em, but I don't know. Especially with Regina. She can be…difficult. I'd love to help you, but there's a lot that we'd have to do and I'm not sure Regina would go for it."

"Put him on speaker," Ruby whispered, plopping herself down on the couch next to her roommate.

"No," Emma insisted. She grabbed a few pieces of popcorn and tossed them into her mouth. "Look, Graham, you know I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't important and I'll do whatever I have to do, sign whatever you need me to sign to get in there. I'm working on getting an interview at the Herald and this could be a really big help to get in there, you know? All I want to do is follow her around and take some pictures."

"I don't know. That's a pretty big request and like I said, I'm not sure Regina would go for it."

Before Emma could say anything else, Ruby grabbed the phone out of her hand and pressed the speaker button. "Hey Graham, it's Ruby," she said, her voice a little garbled around the popcorn in her mouth. "I just feel like you should know that the reason Emma wants this so bad is because she's crushing on that detective really hard."

"Shut up!" Emma cried. She lunged across Ruby's lap, narrowly avoiding spilling the popcorn. Ruby just laughed and held the phone out of reach. "Give it back!"

"No way!" Ruby giggled. The she turned to the phone so that she could be sure Graham could hear her and she spoke again. "Yeah, no, she came home going _on _about how the detective that questioned her was so hot and how incredible she'd look in a photograph and it's kind of pathetic, really."

Emma could hear Graham laughing on the other end of the line and she made one last desperate grab for the phone, but it still didn't help.

"Emma, are you still there?" Graham asked.

"Yeah," she grumbled. "You're still on speaker, though."

"Alright, listen. I'll talk to Regina and the commissioner and see what I can do to get you in here. I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best, alright?"

"Seriously? You're the best!" Emma exclaimed, completely forgetting for the moment that she was still laying on Ruby's lap.

"I know. I'll call you as soon as I have an answer. Take care of yourself."

"Alright, talk to you soon," Emma said.

"She's in love!" Ruby called and Emma could hear Graham laughing again before her roommate clicked off the phone and tossed it onto the couch next to Emma's head.

"You're welcome," she said with a smirk.

"For what?" Emma demanded. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and her phone before sitting back up and leaning against the arm of the couch.

"For helping your case. You know Graham's a sucker for romance and if he thinks he's helping to set you up, he'll do whatever he can to make it happen. I think he still feels guilty about that time he kissed your boyfriend. Whether you like the woman or not, at least he'll help you out now."

"I don't like her," Emma said. "I mean, I do, but in that way that you like something pretty, like a sunset or a bowl of fruit or something."

"Did you just compare a person to a bowl of fruit?"

"You know what I mean!" Emma snapped. "I don't like her. I don't even _know _her. I just know that she would look really nice on glossy photo paper and would get me an A and possibly a job."

"Whatever you say," Ruby said. She stood up and started to walk out of the room, taking the popcorn bowl with her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some graphic design homework to do."

"Alright. Have fun." Emma put her feet up on the couch and grabbed the remote off of the coffee table. "Law and Order marathon," she called before Ruby could get all the way into her bedroom.

"SVU?" Ruby asked, poking her head back into the living room.

"Yup."

"Aw, shit." Ruby walked back into the living room, pushed Emma's feet out of the way, and plopped down with the popcorn. "Guess my graphics homework is going to have to wait a few more hours."

"Poor you." Emma leaned over and reached for the bowl. "You're pathetic. Now give me some popcorn."

* * *

><p>The call came a little before midnight. Ruby had locked herself in her room almost an hour ago with the intent of finishing her graphic assignment, but Emma knew that wasn't what was happening.<p>

When her cell phone started buzzing, she jumped and hurried to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Emma? It's Graham. I got you in."

"No way!" Emma cried. "You are the best!"

"So you keep telling me. Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was just watching TV. This is awesome!"

"Yeah. There's still some paperwork that you'll need to fill out, but if you can come down to the precinct tomorrow, we can get that all settled and you can talk to Regina a little more. She wasn't too keen on the idea, but I wore her down. I feel like I should warn you now that she can get really bitchy when she's out of her element, but she's got a heart of gold underneath."

"You do know that Ruby was lying when she said I was crushing on her, right? I mean, she's attractive and all, but she's so not my type."

"Whatever you say." Emma was sure that he was smirking this time.

"Alright, so when do you want me to come down?"

"I get here at eight tomorrow, so any time after that is fine. The commissioner already faxed over the paperwork, so it's all set for you."

"Seriously, this is fantastic. I can't thank you enough for this," Emma said.

"Don't worry about it. When you're a famous photojournalist, I'll get 'I knew her when' privileges and that'll be payment enough."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow," Emma said.

"Until tomorrow."

Emma ended the call and let her head drop down onto the arm of the couch. She could hardly believe what she had just heard. She was half tempted to pinch herself just to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

It was official. She was so going to ace her project.

* * *

><p>It was rainy and gray out when Emma walked into the precinct the next morning, but nothing could bring down her mood. She signed off on the last of the forms that Graham handed her and set the pen down on the table.<p>

"All done. What now?"

Graham looked up from his paperwork and took the forms she handed him. "Well, now I tell you that since you signed all the liability forms and everything, you get to talk to Regina. If she's here." He stood up and poked his head out the door of his office. "Kathryn?"

"Yeah, sir?" The blonde woman spun around and turned to face Graham.

"Is Regina here right now?"

"She went out to grab a coffee, but she should be back any minute now. Why?"

"Her shadow's here?"

"Sir?" Kathryn asked, raising an eyebrow. She looked around him and fixed her eyes on Emma who was still sitting on a chair in the office. When she saw the other woman staring, Emma gave a small wave. Kathryn just stared blankly back at Graham. "Regina's not going to be happy about this. You know how she gets."

"Let me worry about that."

"Alright, but I am so texting her sister. This is going to be entertaining."

And it was.

* * *

><p>Regina walked back into the precinct with a cup of coffee in her hand and a look on her face that warned everyone to stay away from her. Everyone, that is, except for Kathryn.<p>

"The captain wants to see you," she said, trying her very hardest to hide the smile that was creeping up at the corners of her lips.

"Did he say what about?" Regina asked.

"You'll see." Kathryn turned away before she completely lost it and retreated to the safety of her desk.

Regina narrowed her eyes at her friend for a moment and then headed over to Graham's office. The door was already open and when she walked in, she saw a young blonde woman sitting next to the desk admiring the glass wolf next to Graham's pencil cup. Regina cleared her throat and both Graham and the woman looked up at her. It was only then that she realized that this woman was the same one she had interviewed the day before.

"Regina, you remember how I told you that you were going to be showing someone the ropes of the job?" Graham asked. At Regina's short nod, he continued. "Well, this is Emma. You two met yesterday. She's doing a project for her photography class and she's going to be shadowing you for the duration of this case."

There was a second of silence and then Regina's coffee cup hit the floor.

"You didn't tell her everything, did you?" Emma accused.

Graham's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I may have left out a few details, but the main idea was the same."

"When you told me I would be showing someone around, I assumed it would be a new officer, not some desperate grad student," Regina snapped, not even paying any attention to the puddle of coffee that had formed around her high-heeled boots.

"I told you that you would be showing someone the ropes during this case and you agreed to do that much. Emma and I were foster siblings for a long time and I expect that you will respect my orders and help her out as much as she needs, is that understood?"

"Damn," Emma muttered under her breath. So that was why he was the captain. He could sound really authoritative when he wanted to.

"Yes, Sir," Regina practically growled. She turned and started to stalk out of the room, but she turned and looked over her shoulder. "Oh, and we're out of paper towels."

Emma followed Regina out of the room, careful to avoid the spilled coffee, and Graham just sank back down into his chair and went right back to his paperwork.

Regina was standing outside of the office with her hands on her hips when Emma walked out.

"Alright," she said. "I promised to show you the ropes of the job and let you follow me around on this case. That's it. First things first, there are some ground rules."

"Understandable," Emma said. "Lay them on me."

"One, you are not my partner. You are not to interfere in this investigation in any way, shape or form without my explicit permission. Two, any pictures that you take that you want to use in your project have to go through me first."

"I can do that," Emma said. "Anything else?"

"Yes. Don't get in my way."

With that, Regina turned on her heel, which just so happened to still be wet from the coffee and not at all suited to the linoleum floor tiles. Her foot slipped right out from underneath her and she squeaked in surprise as she fell backwards. Just before she hit the floor, though, she felt a pair of arms on her back gently pushing her back to her feet.

She turned around and saw Emma, arms still slightly outstretched, eyes wide and slightly panicked as though she was waiting for Regina to fall again.

"Thank you," Regina said curtly.

"No problem," Emma replied. "Are you alright?"

"Fine."

There was a noise like a cross between a giggle and a snort from the corner and Regina glared daggers at Kathryn who was trying to hide behind her computer screen. She knew for a fact that her partner had probably already texted Zelena about the situation. Those two were far too close for Regina's liking, mostly because it meant that if something happened in front of one of them, the other knew about it within a few minutes.

"So is there anything else I need to know?" Emma asked, sticking her hands into the back pockets of jeans and looking at Regina with eyes that were entirely too big and green.

"I'll take you on a tour of the building," Regina said. She started walking quickly and Emma had to jog the first few steps to catch up. She shot one last glance back at the giggling blonde at the desk and was almost surprised when Kathryn mouthed "Good luck."

Emma nodded at her and then hurried to fall back into step with Regina. If the last few minutes were any indication, she would definitely need it.


	4. Gossip Girls

**And the fourth installment is here. Thank you once again for all the reviews, faves, and follows. They mean the world to me and I love each and every one of you. I have exams this week, but hopefully I'll have another chapter ready by next weekend. Enjoy!**

***PSA: There is mention of past Stable Queen relationship, and that is going to become a pretty prominent thing in this story, so if you don't like that, I won't feel bad if you don't read.***

**Still unbetaed. Still not mine.**

* * *

><p>"Did you catch any villains today, Mama?"<p>

The greeting was familiar and Regina felt herself automatically tense as she waited for Henry to throw himself at her legs, but he never did. Instead he was sitting on the couch watching some cartoon or another.

"No, not today, sweetheart," Regina said slowly, raising an eyebrow at her son's lack of energy. She took off her shoes and walked over to the couch to press the back of her hand against his forehead. He didn't feel warm, but she was still unnerved. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Fine," Henry said quietly, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I think he's just a little tired," Zelena said, walking out of the kitchen to lean against the back of the couch. "Right, Henry?"

"Mmhm," Henry replied with a small nod.

"Alright. Is your homework all done?" Regina asked. Her hand was subconsciously running through Henry's soft hair. He needed a haircut soon.

"No."

"Then why don't you go do that. How do you feel about hot dogs for dinner?"

"Good."

"I'll start those, but you need to finish your homework first, alright?"

"Okay." Henry slid off the couch and headed back into his bedroom. Regina grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned off the TV before turning around to look at her sister.

"Has he been like that all day?"

Zelena shrugged. "He was fine for a while after he came home, but then he just crashed about an hour ago. I don't know what happened."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Regina said. She sighed as she stood up and walked over to the front door to hang up her coat. "Did anything else happen today?"

"Well, I _did _get a very interesting text from Kathryn today," Zelena said with a smug smile playing at her lips.

"What did she tell you?" Regina asked. She whirled around and narrowed her eyes at her sister.

"Oh, she did much more than that." Regina quirked an eyebrow and Zelena smirked. "She sent pictures."

"She didn't," Regina gasped.

"She did," Zelena replied, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. "In fact, she sent several. Including one of you literally falling into the girl's arms. And here I thought you were above the clichés."

Regina's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, but she kept her composure. "The floor was slippery. Miss Swan just so happened to be there to catch me. That's all."

"Oh, of course. And I'm sure you absolutely hated it when she had her arms around you, your lips that close together, her hair in your face."

"Shut up," Regina snapped. She breezed past her sister into the kitchen and leaned down to grab the package of hot dogs out of the freezer. Zelena followed and hopped up to sit on the counter top.

"Okay, in all seriousness, what is she there for? Kathryn told me you'd explain it to me."

Regina huffed as she grabbed a pot. "Apparently she's Graham's old foster sister and she's doing a photography project for grad school. She asked to use me as her subject and Graham let her in."

"Is that even legal?" Zelena asked.

"She signed all the liability stuff and the commissioner gave the okay so I guess so."

"And you had no say in the matter?"

"Not much. Graham made it pretty clear that I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Would you get off my counter?"

"No. So what are you going to do?"

"Deal with it and solve the case as usual I suppose." Regina filled the pot with water, dropped the hot dogs in, and set it on the stove. Then she leaned against the corner of the counter so that she was facing her sister and crossed her arms over her chest. "She was so _annoying _though. She just kept on snapping pictures randomly all afternoon and it was absolutely infuriating."

"You keep telling yourself that," Zelena said with a knowing smile. "I can think of another person you used to say that about."

"Okay, we're not talking about this right now," Regina said. Her hand had subconsciously made its way up to her collarbone and she was playing with her necklace. "Are you staying for dinner tonight?"

"No. I wish I could, but I still have to finish an article about bee populations in the city by this weekend and I should really do some more work on it. Besides, you know I hate hot dogs." Zelena slid off the counter and headed over to the dining table to pack up her laptop and books. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck with your new girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," Regina insisted. "She's not going to _be _my girlfriend. Once I close this case and she finishes her project, it's over and that's all there is to it."

"You keep on telling yourself that, darling," Zelena teased. She ignored Regina's eye roll and walked into the hallway to call towards Henry's room. "Goodbye, Henry!"

"Bye, Auntie Zee!" Henry called back.

Zelena slipped on her shoes and jacket and then turned to Regina. "Oh, by the way, Mother called me last night."

"Ah. Another thing that we're not talking about right now," Regina said, turning to check the water on the stove.

"She just wanted to know if we were going over for Dad's birthday tomorrow night."

"I don't know. I'll think about it."

"I think she'd like to see you and Henry again and I know it would make Dad really happy."

"Are you going?" Regina asked.

"Yes, probably."

"I don't know. I'll think about. The last time I went over, things went less than stellar and I would really not like to repeat that experience."

"Alright," Zelena said. She slung her laptop bag over her shoulder and headed to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow either way."

"See you," Regina replied, not looking up from the stove. She heard the door open and waited until it shut again before she looked up. Her fingers were still twisting the chain of her necklace and her whole body felt on edge. She rested her elbows on the cool countertop and dropped her head into her hands. It took a few deep breaths and a long moment of silence for her to straighten back up.

The hot dogs were rolling in the boiling water and she grabbed two plates out of the cabinet.

"Henry, dinner!" she called.

"Coming!" he yelled back.

After a minute, she heard his footsteps coming down the hall and she smiled.

"Henry, you know I love you, right?" she asked as she used a fork to fish the hot dogs out of the pot.

"Yeah, Mama. You tell me everyday," he replied, climbing onto his seat at the table.

"Well it's true." Regina cut his hot dog into pieces, squirted a pool of ketchup onto the plate, and slid it in front of him. Then she leaned down to kiss his dark hair. "And don't you ever forget it."

* * *

><p>"So, how'd your first day as a cop go, Em?" Ruby asked.<p>

She, Emma, David, and Mary Margaret were sitting in a booth in Ruby's grandmother's diner with burgers and a huge plate of communal fires at the center of the table.

"You're a cop?" Mary Margaret asked. "When did this happen?"

"Technically still not a cop," Emma said, grabbing a handful of fries and practically shoving them in her mouth. "And it was pretty good. I saved her from falling on her ass, but no big deal or anything."

"I'm still lost," Mary Margaret said. "What's going on? Emma, what are you doing as a cop?"

"It's for her photography project," David explained. "She's shadowing a cop to get her pictures." Emma raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged. "Ruby texted me this morning. Congratulations by the way."

"So, is she still as hot as she was when she was interrogating you?" Ruby asked, resting her elbows on the table and leaning forward with a mischievous grin on her face.

"You got _interrogated_?" Mary Margaret gasped. "Why don't you guys tell me these things? Oh my God, Emma, what happened?"

"Hook got killed," Emma explained. "Honestly, it was only a matter of time, but I got brought in for questioning. Covering all the bases and everything. Anyway, the cop that interviewed me was kind of pretty…" She paused and shot Ruby a sharp glare, but the brunette's smile only grew bigger. "…and she inspired me, so I called Graham up and he got me in to follow her around for my project."

"You're following a cop around and risking your own life just to do a project?" Mary Margaret asked. "Wait. Hook was _murdered_?"

"Yeah. I love you, M&M, but try to keep up here," Ruby said. She grabbed a fry and turned back to Emma. "So back to my original question. How was your first day?"

Emma shrugged. "Not bad. She didn't seem very happy about the whole deal. She dropped her coffee when Graham explained the situation, but it wasn't bad."

"You said you saved her from falling on her ass?"

"Yeah. She slipped and started to fall, but I caught her before she hit the ground."

"Did she swoon?" Ruby asked."

"No," Emma said a little too defensively, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "And she's not going to. She's so not my type. And even if she was, she's out of my league."

"Well you're both on the same playing field right now, so if I were you, I'd make the most of that opportunity," David said, taking a bite of his burger. "And I've known you since high school and if there was anyone on this planet that didn't have a type, it's you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma asked.

"It means that I'm calling it now, you two are going to end up dating before this is all over," Ruby said. "So get you act together and ask the girl out."

"Whatever." Emma rolled her eyes and took a sip of her Coke.

"Have you taken any pictures of her yet?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Oh, yeah. I have a few on my phone," Emma said. "I'm bringing my camera with me tomorrow and I'll start getting some better shots, but these aren't too bad." She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, unlocked it, opened her gallery, and held it out so that the other three could see,

She had only taken three pictures, all of them in secret. The first was of Regina's profile as she made herself a fresh albeit bitter and watery cup of coffee. The second was a full body shot from the back as Regina was walking towards Kathryn's desk to pick up a file and the third was the only full shot of Regina's face, obscured slightly by the blinds in Graham's office. Emma had been ordered to wait outside while Regina went in to talk to him about something.

"Oh wow, she is pretty," Mary Margaret said.

"Yeah," David agreed.

"Totally," Ruby said. She leaned back in the booth and clasped her hands behind her head. "I'm serious, Em, she looks like a good one."

"You don't even know her," Emma replied, slipping her phone back into her pocket.

"Oh please. Have you ever watched half the cop shows on TV? They _always _end up hooking up. This is no exception."

"Are you seriously only hoping this works out so that I can get a date?"

"Well when you put it like that…" Ruby started.

"Don't be upset, Emma. She's joking, I'm sure," Mary Margaret said quickly.

"Oh, I'm not upset," Emma said. "I'm just saying, that's not why I'm doing this. If I can do well enough on this piece, I can use it in my portfolio when I apply for jobs and that would be a big deal."

"That's very true," David said.

"So you one hundred percent don't want to at least go out on a date with her?" Ruby asked.

"That's not my motive, no," Emma said. Then she ate a fry and her lips twitched up in a hint of a smile. But it would certainly be a perk.

* * *

><p>"So is this all you do?"<p>

"Today, yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, it's just, I thought we'd be chasing down suspects or interrogating scumbags or something, you know?"

"In order to catch those suspects and 'scumbags,' we need to do some more background research and actually track them down. And there's the paperwork aspect of the job too. This is the less glamorous reality of being a detective, Miss Swan. If you don't like it, you're free to leave."

"Oh no, I was just asking."

"Of course you were."

Regina turned back to the pile of paperwork she was sorting through, but she could still see Kathryn giving her an all-too-satisfied smirk from her desk. Regina narrowed her eyes at her partner and then dropped her gaze back down to the papers.

Emma, on the other hand, felt like she was about to pass out from boredom. She could only watch Regina fill out those files for so long and she had passed that mark almost an hour ago. With a soft sigh, she dug around in her bag until she found her digital camera and decided to take a few shots to help pass the time.

The first picture she took was of the to-go cup of coffee sitting on the corner of Regina's desk. She lined the picture up perfectly so that the cup was in the left hand third of the frame and the corner of a file folder was visible in the other two thirds. It was a perfect cover photo.

Once she had it line up perfectly, Emma pressed the button and there was a short click and a flash.

The vein in Regina's forehead throbbed and she gripped her pen just a little bit tighter. Kathryn tried to cover a giggle with a cough and Regina glared at her again, but didn't say anything. This arrangement was quickly proving itself to be one of the most trying things Regina had ever experienced and if she had any say in the matter, Emma Swan would be out of the precinct so fast she'd be leaving skid marks on the linoleum.

Of course it certainly didn't help that she was still conflicted about going to her parents' house for dinner, but the brunt of her annoyance was coming from the blonde who just would not stop fidgeting and now she was snapping pictures like crazy too. Regina gritted her teeth and just kept telling herself to ignore it. IT would all be over soon enough.

Then the phone rang. Regina wasn't sure she'd ever been so glad to hear the shrill, grating tone in all her life.

"Detective Mills," she said as soon as she got the phone to her ear. She glared at Emma who immediately dropped her camera in her lap. Ah, peace, at least for the time being.

"Regina?"

Regina recognized her sister's voice instantly and her blood ran cold. Zelena never called her at work. The only reason she would have was if something was very wrong.

"Zelena? What's wrong? What happened? Is Henry alright?"

"Calm down," Zelena said quickly. "Nothing major happened, but I figured I should let you know that I just picked Henry up from school. Apparently he threw up at recess and he's got a little bit of a fever. He's fine, though. He's just watching TV and he'll be alright until you get home."

"Oh God. I should have known something was wrong last night or even this morning." Regina was mentally kicking herself for brushing off Henry's lack of energy, but also a little bit grateful for the excuse to leave. "I'm leaving. I'll be home in about ten minutes."

"No, that's alright," Zelena said. "He's fine. I can handle him until you get out."

"No. He's my son, he's sick, and I'm coming home."

"Okay. I'll see you in a few minutes then."

"Bye."

Regina hung up the phone, shut the file folder she was looking through, and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair as she stood up.

"I'm going home," she called to Kathryn. "Henry's got a fever. I might not be tomorrow either, but I'll call you later and let you know."

"Alright, go," Kathryn said. "I'll tell Graham when he gets back from lunch."

"Thank you." Regina was already grabbing her purse and when she started walking towards the elevator, Emma grabbed her bag and followed.

"You have a son?" she asked.

"Yes," Regina said.

"How old is he?"

"Six."

"I didn't know you had a son."

"Yes, well, that's really something that would come up in any of the conversations we've had, now would it, Miss Swan?" Regina asked.

The elevator doors opened and both women stepped inside.

"No, I guess not," Emma said.

There was a long pause as Regina hit the button for the main floor and the elevator started moving. Then Regina spoke again.

"Depending on how he's feeling, I might not be in tomorrow. If I'm not, then I'm sure you can find something else to do with your time tomorrow."

"Yeah, of course," Emma said. "And don't worry about it either."

"Worry about what?"

"Coming in tomorrow. You strike me as a bit of a workaholic, but a sick kid takes precedence."

"I know that," Regina snapped. "Henry will always come first. Before myself, work, my parents, anything."

Emma wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that, but thankfully she didn't have to. The elevator stopped and the doors opened into the main lobby of the building. Regina strode quickly toward the door and turned left, not even bothering to say goodbye.

Emma started to turn the opposite direction, but then stopped and turned around. She shot a quick picture of Regina's retreating back and then turned again, shoved her camera into her bag, and wrapped her leather jacket tighter around herself.

Maybe Ruby had been just a little bit right the night before. This whole thing was way too 'cop show cliché' to be true.


End file.
